WWZ Castle of Glass
by fuusunshine
Summary: Go North? What do you do if you already are north? (Survive)


_**Disclaimer: I do not own WWZ nor do I make any money from this writing**_

_**A/N If your waiting for an update on my other stories do not fear it is coming soon. Now Just so you know I wanted to give WWZ a try and I based every character *Except Tyrone, he is completely made up* on real people. They have all given their permission and it was seriously fun to write about what real people I know would do in a situation like this. Hehehehe Sorry Pam :D **_

**Calgary, Alberta, Canada**

**[Stacey Preston greets me in her kitchen offering coffee that I accept. She is an attractive woman with a mane of red curly hair and youthful green eyes. She is a butcher by trade and works at a government run farm supplying the area with a limited amount of meat products. It is an unusual occupation to imagine the energetic woman in.]**

YOU WANT My Story?… umm ok, BUT I'm sure there are more important people out there for you to interview.

**[You helped establish the smallest Blue Zone and the only one in Ontario is that not correct.]**

Yeah I guess. Blue Zone, why were they called Blue, weird? I didn't realize we were even a zone until it was over. We just did what we did. So what is it that you would like to know?

**[Start from the beginning. When did you decide to leave your home?]**

Well it wasn't right away. Eganville is a very small town in Eastern Ontario. We really didn't experience the disaster at first. Sure we knew about it but being in our location was, I guess a good thing. I never watched much TV, I tended to read a lot but I did hear about the African Rabies while I was at work. I worked in the grocery store in town as a butcher and the lunchroom was always full of gossip. Small town and all. So when I got home both my boys were kind of freaked out.

**[She has two children both of which are now members of the Canadian Military]**

I was never one to sugar coat things for them. It was just the three of us; I needed their help and opinions if I was going to raise them by myself. They had heard many things at school that day. Scott had heard more then Max but he was in high school where Max was still in grade 8. So I googled it.

**[She laughs]**

It was hard to sift through the information to get to the bottom of the mess. There were news reports by the dozens, which we read in their entirety, as well as random sites that had sprung up with pictures of… well what looked to me like zombies. After that, we turned on the TV and sat transfixed for hours. China, Europe, Africa, it was a pandemic, how the hell did we not realize just how big this all was? At work, there had been snippets about viruses but I thought it was another case of the swine flu. Which we actually contracted and were under house quarantine for weeks but survived what felt like nothing more then a bad flu. This was different and I became panicked. I called my Mom first thing since I actually hadn't heard from her in about a week. Her and her husband lived in Brocksville Florida six months out of every year and just had arrived there two weeks earlier. When I heard her voice on the other end, I relaxed some but my relief didn't last long. She was quite hysterical and I could barely manage to understand what she was saying. What I got from our conversation was they were attempting to leave, to come home but she doubted they would make it. I remember so clearly the last words she said to me. "Please Stacey, get your brother and my grandbabies and go, go find somewhere safe!"

**[She pauses and looks out her window, Slowyly sipping her coffee for a moment before beginning again.]**

As soon as I hung up the phone, I was calm and my mind began working in a very clear and concise manner. I've always been like that, in very stressful or painful situations I always remain calm and do what needs to be done. I only gave in to panic once the situation no longer exists so I am grateful for that little personality quirk. I didn't even have to call my brother Jeff who lived in another town a half hour drive away. He, his wife Kerry and their two small boys Kevin and Gage pulled in shortly after I spoke with my mother. He had apparently called her as well and her panic had been contagious driving him to take action immediately. I lived out in the country on a farm where I rented a house and Jeff thought it was as safe a place as any, he wanted to stay here and ride out whatever it was that was coming but it didn't sit right with me. I guess my gut was telling me that we had to find somewhere safer. I sent out an email to my friend Charlotte who lived in Orlando, which was near my parents to ask her what she knew and if she could check in on my Mom. I received a reply almost right away. She apologized but she and her husband were already in North Carolina, the radio and television broadcasts had been informing people to go "North". She had actually seen a person infected with whatever it was and blatantly called it a zombie. I replied quickly that she should head towards me and that I would get back to her as soon as I could. Her reply was "Hurry, cell service is sporadic, we are taking back roads to try and avoid traffic."

What followed was a long night of arguing with Jeff about what to do and where to go. Where we were was out of the way, over one hundred kilometers from the nearest city, which was Ottawa, and from the television and web reports we could find so far the pandemic was slowly moving here. Well there were some very interesting reports coming out of Toronto of riots and hordes. That was the first time I had heard that word and to be honest its impact at that time didn't really hit home. News broadcasts were telling people to go north because apparently, the infected would freeze in cold enough temperatures, well we were north, what the hell should we do? It appeared to us that people were taking the north business a little too seriously. A list of places to go was posted on almost every channel and site with places like Moosene, Labradour, Brandon, Iqaluit, Whitehorse, Edmonton, Yellowkinfe and Juneau. Northern cities spanning from east to west but seriously?

**[She gazes at me as if looking for answers]**

Nobody had any idea just how far "North" those places were. Even if someone managed to make it that far north how the heck did they expect to survive in that kind of climate especially in this situation? Well I knew that going up there was a death sentence, of course staying put was a death sentence as well so, what do we do? I would like to humbly thank the creators and employees who designed and maintained Google because that is where we got our answers. The power here was still up and running unlike reports coming in from other more populated areas so we took advantage of that. We searched different areas trying to find a place to go. We took what information we knew from reports about the infected and applied that knowledge to our search. Kerry had taken her boys and mine down to the far end of the house and they all camped out in my room, which was the biggest, as Jeff and I tried to come up with a plan. By the time the sun came up the next day and Kerry came out and offered to make coffee we had a plan.

Oh my God I'm sorry, I was rambling, this probably isn't what you want to know right? You want the logistics of the camp or strategies, I'm sorry.

**[I smile and assure her that indeed this is what I would like to hear and urged her to continue her tale.]**

Oh, ok then. Well the plan, it was simple enough really. Algonquin Park was only a two-hour drive from where I lived. It was a huge area of natural forests, rivers and lakes. We discovered a large island that had cottages to rent in the middle of Source Lake, as well as several resorts strategically placed within the park as to not interfere with nature. We really didn't care or consider the "for rent" part because as far as we could tell everyone was heading farther north. We would hole up on the island then when the snow fell and everything was frozen, we would move to the resorts. The resorts boasted five star accommodations with fireplaces in every room. The five star bit didn't matter it was the fireplaces that we wanted. The temperatures here in the winter could reach down to -40 Celsius or even lower with the wind chill so we were thinking ahead. That was it really, a simple plan to hide and keep our children safe from what was to come. I immediately emailed Charlotte with a map and detailed instructions on how to get to the island and resorts; unfortunately, I never received a reply and fear shot through me. Of course we would need supplies, the weather was warm now but it wouldn't be long till it began getting cold and of course food was of the utmost importance as were weapons. Now weapons were something I had never had to think about but luckily enough I had a strange hobby. I'm almost embarrassed to admit this but that hobby saved my life more then once. I was a huge fan of anime and manga, Japanese cartoons and comic books. I had a crazy collection of paraphernalia and it so happened that in my collection were two katana. The long swords worn by samurai, well they weren't real antiques but they were real swords. Jeff had a hunting rifle with a scope and all, I never asked where he got it seeing as he didn't hunt but he had it. We also collected the axe from my woodpile out back and we gathered up my knives. As I was a butcher, I had a very nice set of knives, stainless steel blades as well as handles.

Jeff and I left Kerry with the children as they were not going to school, yes the schools here were still open and the small town seemed to keep running as if nothing was going on. We went to store that I worked in, I actually had the day off so when I entered my boss said nothing. We bought a ton of non perishable items, jugs upon jugs of water as well as tylenoL , advil, peroxide and polysporen. Shirley the cashier laughed at us saying we were just buying into the panic but we shrugged it off and left. We crossed the street and Jeff tried to buy ammunition for his rifle but he didn't have a license. I guess old Mr. Hunt was buying in to the panic himself because after a short argument with us he handed us an obscene amount of ammunition and didn't want payment. He did ask us what we were planning so we filled him in and he smiled at us nodding. Mr. Hunt then added some hunting clothes to our shopping cart, a few jackets, insulated pants and boots in various sizes. He reminded us that it would be getting cold sooner rather then later. Thank you Mr. Hunt camouflage is my new favorite color!

**[So that is when you left then?]**

Well actually, we planned to leave two weeks from then to give us some more time to prepare but our plans had to change.

**[What happened?]**

Well, the "Go North Refugees" happened I guess. Everyday the radio would say that hwy 17, which is the Trans Canada Highway, was clogged with traffic and the vehicles just kept on coming, so many people going north. Highway 60 and 41 were pretty busy as well with fall out traffic. I lived right off of highway 60 and I have never seen it that busy. See, I guess some of those refugees were infected. Reports of attacks were starting to come in from closer and closer to home. We were packed with everything we could possibly think of or scrounge up, all we had to do was pile it into the back of Jeff's truck and go. I decided that I would head into town one last time to try to convince my friends and co-workers to come with us or at least get away.

I parked my little Hyundai in the parking lot of the grocery store that was way busier then it had ever been and went inside. I was scheduled to work that day and my boss stopped me at the door. I apologized but quit right there on the spot. He said nothing as I continued to walk past him into the store. I went back to the meat room to talk to the guys, Dave, Marshall and Brian were working but I got the same response from them that I did everyone else. They thought I was over reacting. I just couldn't wrap my head around the fact that they thought I was the crazy one. All you had to do was turn on the radio or the television to see the truth. Wanda stopped me on my way out almost hesitantly to ask where I was going. I told her in as much detail as I could and asked her to come. She shook her head sadly. She was a bit older then me but one of the sweetest women I have ever known. Our little conversation was interrupted by a commotion outside in the parking lot. People were yelling for someone to call 911 as I stepped out into the bright midday sun. You know I always thought that the first time I saw a zombie it would be a dark stormy night like in the movies but there in the bright sun one of my closest friends was shuffling through the parking lot. I had known Pam for over 10 years, we had gotten into mischief when we were younger and we talked at least once a week. It's hard not to put a human face on those things especially if you knew who they were. For a moment, I was frozen in fear. I couldn't move, all I could do was watch. She looked like she had been hit by a car and in all probability she was. Her left leg was at strange angle and her side was coated in blackish red ooze. The noise that came from her, well we all know what it is but it was the first time I had ever heard that moan; I broke out in goose bumps. I watched in my paralysis as Todd, another good friend walked up to her to help. She grabbed his arm and pulled him in taking a large bite from his neck. That was the largest amount of blood I have ever seen and that is saying a lot after surviving the war. Todd lay gurgling on the pavement as she bent over him taking chunk after chunk of his flesh in between her teeth. Something kick started in the back of my mind and my senses started to pull in information again. People were screaming, some running, and some moving over to Todd to help. The one thought that finally put me into motion was I have to get back to my boys and get them the hell out of here.

**[You left for Algonquin Park then?]**

Mhmm. I jumped back in my little Hyundai and headed home. Like I said the traffic was really heavy but I was in such a panic to reach my children that I drove on the gravel shoulder of the road the whole way so I could move faster then the traffic. I pulled into the yard drove right up on the lawn jumped out of the car not even closing the door and burst through the door yelling that we were leaving right now. I had scared Kevin, Gage, and Max but to my surprise Scott stood with the katana placed on one of his hips and nodded at me. Jeff and Kerry were asking me a million questions so I just blurted it out right there in front of the kids. "I saw a fucking zombie I saw one, for fucks sake it was Pam!" The little ones were crying so Kerry took them to the living room to calm them down as Jeff, Scott and I started loading the back of the truck. Max came out after a few minutes with a suggestion that both stunned and amazed us. The highway was crowded even if it was still moving well so Max suggested we take the snowmobile trails since they go right up into the park. It was sheer brilliance. I ran over and hugged him quickly telling him to start helping load the truck. Jeff's truck was a king cab and a 4 wheel drive so taking the trails was perfect. Snowmobiling was a popular activity back then and the county and province maintained trails throughout the area for use by the hobbyists. We could get where we were going in about 3 hours and would not have to deal with traffic or people for that matter. The less people we dealt with the less chance of running into an infected.

Taking the trails proved to be a great idea. We literally didn't see another soul for the entire journey. Unfortunately, by the time we arrived at the shore of Source Lake it was dark. There were no bridges and the only way to get to the island was by canoe, there was nothing more we could do until daylight. It was one of the most unsettling nights I have ever spent with all seven of us crammed into that truck with the dog. Oh, I didn't mention the dog. Jlo, a black lab pit-bull mix but don't judge her she was a real sweetheart. I was not leaving her behind. That night was pitch black and you could hear the far off sound of traffic and horns blowing. Sometimes even voices yelling. I don't think I slept for even a minute. The little ones did and that was good, but my boys and we adults were wide-awake and full of fear. Having to get out of that truck to let Jlo do her business was horrifying. She crept off only maybe three feet from the truck to do her thing as I stood by and watched with my heart pounding in my ears. I heard a twig snap not far off in the distance and my heart rate skyrocketed. Jlo bounded back in two strides looking at me to open the truck door, which I happily did for her. I didn't care that it was uncomfortably cramped inside, I was inside.

The next morning when the sun made its appearance we were all stretching and milling about thanking the heavens that there were two canoes sitting right there on the lonely beach. A ministry truck pulled up next to us and a young man in uniform got out. He was a park ranger so my brother put his hand on my shoulder indicating that he would talk to him. I tend to have a big mouth especially when I feel what I am trying to say is of the utmost importance so I conceded to Jeff and let him speak. It turns out that the park ranger did not want to cause us any trouble in fact he had seen enough that he wanted to help us and he thought our plan was a solid one. He told us to wait here for him and he would be back within the hour. He was true to his word. He returned with a park boat on a trailer in tow. He also had several rifles, ammunition, a handgun, some survival rations and probably the most important piece of equipment that we did not even think about, a radio scanner. We could use it to listen and keep in touch with well I didn't know who we could keep in touch with but the radio was invaluable. The young man's name was Tyrone, he was originally from Toronto and had not heard from his parents or his brother in weeks.

We loaded up the boat with as much as we could but we were going to have to make two trips. On the first trip, we not only took what we could fit but we also took the children over. Jeff stayed with them and Kerry as Tyrone and I went back for the rest of our supplies. It was uneventful but before we left shore, Tyrone took both the batteries from Jeff's truck and his own. It was a good source of power for the radio and they would last quite a long time. I suggested we tie the canoes up and pull them over with us. It was reasonable to presume we would run out of gas for the boat and it would be better to have them already on the island. So our second trip went off without a hitch and the island was remote and hadn't been used since the early summer.

**[That is where you made your summer camp and fortified island?]**

Yup that was it.

**[ When the military came through sweeping the north and liberating the survivors there were 60 people in your zone, when did the others arrive?]**

Well most people actually didn't show up till after the Great Panic when the military was pulling back to behind the Rockies and following suit with the Americans. We had radio contact then with the military as well as a few other strong holds. Our location was broadcasted to any survivors who could make it to us but that was at least a year after we first arrived. The first real group was 19 people and that is counting the children.

**[How did they find you?]**

It was more like we found them. The first two weeks on that island were horrifying. We went as far inland as we could and took up residence in one of the cabins there. All of us in one cabin because we were too scared to be to far from each other. We had the radio and listened to it constantly. So we knew to keep quiet. We hardly made a sound for those first weeks, we just huddled in that cabin waiting. We could hear sounds from off in the distance. Yelling, car horns, the pop pop pop of gun fire then nothing but that low awful moan. After awhile there was silence, the moaning had moved on and we started to relax a little. Tyrone had a pair of binoculars that Jeff and I fought over repeatedly. Jeff had come running back to the cabin one day very agitated. "There are people out there!" I remember him saying. I went with him to look and sure enough, there were people milling around on the east side shore. We went back to the camp and I decided to take a canoe and head towards them. Kerry and Tyrone were reluctant but that really didn't matter to me, they were people and they would be safer on our island then they would be on shore closer to the highway. I paddled across and met up with them. There was a family with a young daughter and five others, all from the States trying to go north. I returned to our island with the family then Jeff went back twice more to get the others and the supplies they carried.

**[You said there were nineteen originally, with that group added to yours it would only make sixteen]**

The other three turned up one week later. I was sitting up in my tree as I called it watching the shore when I spotted a Zed.

**[She laughs softly]**

The eight that had just joined us were American and always called them Z's but for us Canadians it was Zed. Anyway, I saw the Zed then another then three more. I can tell you my heart was in my throat thinking that they had spotted our island and us but they seemed to be moving towards something. As I panned around with the binoculars, I spotted them, three people running along the beach. One of them turned and paused with a rifle and made a clean shot killing one of those things dead again, they would have had no problem cleaning up those five Zeds but out of the trees came at least twenty-five more. I jumped out of my tree and ran to the camp to grab my katana. I wasn't thinking at all really, I just wanted to help them. I spoke calmly to everyone and said I was going to help. I guess I wasn't thinking or maybe I was, it doesn't matter I wanted to help them. Jeff, Tyrone and one of the new refugees each grabbed a rifle and the four of us piled into the ministry boat and started up the engine. I have never fired a gun, not then and not now, I didn't know how so the katana was my weapon of choice. We drove the boat almost right up on shore and joined the fray immediately. Up until that point I had never killed anything larger then a mouse but adrenalin is a powerful chemical. My feet hit that beach and my sword was out slicing right through the neck of the closest Zed. Honestly, I don't really remember much about that fight, only that it felt like it took hours and only seconds all at the same time. I swear the Zeds just kept coming. When it was all said and done the Zeds were no more and we had gained three new members of our little rag tag group of survivors. When I was finally able to look at them and see who they were, I felt tears leave my eyes and slowly run down my cheeks. They were three people I knew and had worked with. They had remembered my warning and my plan, when they could hold out no longer back home they moved towards me. Wanda looked worn out but otherwise unharmed, Travis had a broken arm and looked exhausted, and Marshall looked exactly the same as I remember him. Standing straight with a huge smile on his face, I couldn't help but return that smile even though we were all standing there covered in dirt, guck and sweat.

**[Marshall, The Hunter?]**

Yup the one and only. Oh he has quite a name now doesn't he? Very popular with the ladies. Do you know how he got that name, The Hunter?

**[It is my understanding that it is because he would hunt the infected mercilessly.* Stacey smile and shakes her head.*]**

Yeah that's the story or his legend I should say, maybe I shouldn't spoil it, oh well he can slap me for it later. Out of our little group, he was the only one with hunting experience. I mean that literally. He used to go hunting for deer, turkeys, ducks all that sort of thing every year and honestly, that experience was quite helpful to us for food and Zeds. Wanda, well she was our fisherman. That woman could catch a fish with nothing but a stick and some string I swear. Travis was a big guy like my oldest son Scott. Those two were our heavy lifters. Kerry became our unofficial medical officer seeing as before the war she ran a daycare and was the only one with at least first aid training. Jeff and I well we kind of did the organizing. We had both come up with the plan and we made sure we kept to it.

**[I thought you had a medical professional in your zone?]**

Yeah we did but not at first. She came to us later. So umm ok, let's see. There we were the original nineteen on that island as the weather started to turn colder. We hadn't heard or seen anything and we were becoming rather comfortable. I guess we thought we were safe. We were wrong. Tyrone was up in my tree watching the shore when he spotted something he found strange. There were Zeds on the shore, maybe fifty if that but one of them just walked right out into the lake, then another. He came back to camp and reported it to us. I honestly figured they drowned. Like I said, we had become comfortable and we weren't being all that quiet. About an hour and a half after Tyrone reported in Jlo started growling and her hackles went up. Within minutes we were swarmed. The Zeds had walked right up onto our island and made their way to our camp. Well we did what we could. I ordered Kerry to take all the children into the largest cabin while the rest of us would defend them. Scott stood right beside me and would not leave my side. He was sixteen years old. I didn't care, he was one of my babies, I screamed at him to hide with the others. It didn't do any good. In all reality he was an asset. I mean the kid was six foot two and built like a mountain but one of the smartest people I had ever known. So we stood against the swarm, all of us. They just kept coming and coming. A lot of our group were not exactly a great shot so they ended up wounding more Zeds then killing but Scott and I with our katanas and Travis with his homemade spear would follow after and slice through their heads. Marshall just knelt there in the same spot hitting mark after mark. It was a long fight and we lost two people. One of the new refugees and Tyrone, I felt responsible, this was my plan and it had failed. Once things had calmed down, we all returned to our camp. Failure, I failed them. Kerry and all of the children were safe but a Zed had made it past us and beat down the door to the cabin. Max stood there over the now motionless Zed with my wood axe gripped in his white knuckles. My thirteen-year-old son had managed to kill the thing and protect the other children. I walked over slowly and pried his fingers off the axe. All I could say to him was. "I'm sorry."

It took awhile for us to realize what our mistake had been but realize it we did. The weather turned bitterly cold and the lake froze over as well as any Zed we came across. We moved from our island to the closest resort and began re-evaluating our plan.


End file.
